Tremolo devices are well known to those skilled in the musical instruments art for varying the pitch of the strings on a guitar.
The tremolo is mounted on the body of the guitar and becomes an integral part of the guitar.
Each of the guitar strings is held taut at one end by the tremolo, and the other end of each of the guitar strings connects to a respective tuner, with the tuners mounted on a headstock. The guitar strings are taut and traverse over the length of the neck of the guitar to the headstock. At the end of the neck, which is connected to the headstock, the strings pass over or through a nut.
While playing a guitar equipped with a tremolo, a guitarist can vary the pitch of the strings by tilting the tremolo arm which increases or decreases string tension.
A problem associated with prior art tremolo devices is the design of the tremolo arm assembly, which is required to have a specific tension so that the tremolo arm can remain in a fixed position. Constant swiveling of the tremolo arm, in and out of playing position, relaxes the tension on the tremolo arm and causes the tremolo arm to be unable to stay in a fixed position. Also, prior tremolo arm assemblies are not manufactured with precision and the tremolo arm tension is difficult to adjust due to deficient design.
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, Floyd Rose marketed a prior art adjustable tremolo arm having an arm, a hollow threaded-tremolo-arm-assembly shaft with two opposed flat sided shoulders, a locking nut, two plastic washers, a metal washer and a keyway washer. A sample of this Rose arm which was tested was difficult to use and to maintain a desired pre-load on the arm. The tested Rose sample was likewise prone to deformation of the supplied plastic washers, thereby leading to undesirable loosening of the components (and loss of the desired pre-load). There is a need for an adjustable tremolo arm which precisely retains the desired tension established by the user.